My mom sent us this book a couple of years ago, and for some reason it was the only board book that made the journey here to Utah and didn’t wind up in storage. Needless to say, it is now a favorite. I love it because it uses Margaret Wise Brown’s lilting style, very similar to her bookGoodnight Moon, which has been a favorite of all my kids. Another reason I love it is that it has been newly illustrated (well, newly, as in twenty years ago) by the wonderful Felicia Bond, who illustrated the favoriteIf You Give a Mouse a Cookie books.

I interviewed my son about why he likes the books today. Sorry some of the pictures’ exposure is a bit off. My son didn’t want to put on his shoes before going outside, and then when I asked him to stand in the shade, he told me his feet were too cold. It’s a miracle I got the shots I did.

Anyway, this is how that conversation went:

me: What is the book about?ckr: Barns, barns, barns.

me: What else is about?ckr: Animals, animals, animals.

me: What is you favorite part?ckr: When the animals say, (He makes a breathed in hiccupy sound)

me: Oh yeah?ckr: Yeah

me: Which animals make that sound?ckr: The roosters.

me: Hm. What other animal do you like?

ckr: The dogs.

me: What sound do they make?ckr: (makes the same sound as before)

me: Why do they make that sound?ckr: Because that’s funny noises.

me: How come they make such funny noises?ckr: Because.

me: Because why?ckr: Because they’re so funny (Keeps making the breathing in sound until he trails off and changes the subject).

Apparently, I had forgotten about the line in the book that says, “The sheep and the donkey,/The geese and the goats, /Were making funny noises /Down in their throats.”